Hospitals routinely monitor physiological parameters of patients from first entry until final release using one or more patient monitoring devices, such as a heart rate monitor, an EKG monitor, a SpO2 monitor, and so forth. These devices detect physiological parameters and tend to operate independently of each other. The monitoring equipment includes connections to the patient necessary to measure the physiological parameter and a display device for displaying the physiological parameter. A clinician, e.g., a nurse, reads the information on the various display devices and records the patient's vital signs.
Current systems have integrated the measurement of some of the physiological parameters (e.g. EKG, SpO2, etc.) into a single patient monitoring device. Such a device includes the patient connections necessary to measure the physiological parameters measurable by the device and a display device which can display the measured physiological parameters in an appropriate manner. Such patient monitors may be considered to be partitioned into two sections. A first, operational, section controls the reception of signals from electrodes connected to the patient and performs the signal processing necessary to calculate the desired physiological parameters. A second, control, status and communication section interacts with a user to receive control information and with the operational section to receive the physiological parameters, and displays status information and the values of the physiological parameters in an appropriate manner. Either or both of these sections may include a computer or processor to control the operation of that section. This approach has an economic advantage since the control, status and communication section is shared among the parameter monitoring functions.
Such patient monitoring devices may also be connected to a central hospital computer system via a hospital network. In this manner, data representing patient physiological parameters may be transferred to the central hospital computer system for temporary or permanent storage in a storage device. The stored data may be retrieved and analyzed by healthcare workers via the hospital network. Patient monitoring devices in such networked system include a terminal connected to and communicating with the hospital network. The control, status and communication section controls the display of the physiological parameters, and also the connection to the hospital network and the exchange of the physiological parameters with other systems, such as other patient monitoring devices and/or the central computer storage device, via the hospital network.
Such patient monitoring modules may also be portable or transportable. That is, they may operate while being transported with a patient who is being moved from one location to another in the hospital, for example, between a patient room and a therapy or operating room. A portable patient monitor consists of a base unit, and a portable unit which may be docked and undocked from the base unit. Base units may be placed at appropriate locations in the hospital. They are permanently connected to the hospital network and receive power from the power mains. The portable unit includes the necessary patient connections, connections for docking with base units, and a display screen. The portable unit also includes a processor which controls the operation of the portable unit. The portable unit further includes a battery and an internal memory device.
Throughout the specification, the terminology “module” and “device” will be used interchangeably.
A patient monitor is passive in the sense that it monitors physiological parameters of the patient to which it is attached. However, other medical devices are active devices, herein sometimes also referred to as treatment devices, in that their operation affects the patient in some manner. For example, the anesthesia module controls the administration of anesthesia to a patient, e.g. during an operation; the fluid management device controls the administration of fluids (blood, saline, and/or medication) to a patient; the ventilator device assists or controls breathing of a patient, e.g. during an operation, and so forth. The active devices also include a computer or processor which controls the operation of the device. These devices also may be connected to a hospital network through a base unit. This allows a central location to monitor and to control the active device. As with the patient monitoring device, an active device, such as a fluid monitoring device, may be portable in the sense that a control module, including a processor, may be undocked from a fixed unit. This control module continues to operate the device, at the last received control settings, e.g. while a patient is transported from one location to another. When at the new location, the control module may be docked in a fixed unit at the new location and control by a central computer resumed.
Patient monitors have also been adapted to transmit information to the hospital network from other modules. These modules may be patient monitoring modules measuring physiological parameters which are not measured by the patient monitor, or patient treatment modules reporting the status of treatments being provided to the patient. Such patient monitors include input terminals, which may be wireless input ports, to which these other monitoring modules can be connected. Information from these modules can be passed through the patient monitor to the hospital network through the base unit.
Independently operating systems used in patient monitoring and treatment have numerous limitations. For example, altering a treatment protocol based on monitoring results may require intervention by a clinician reading parameters from the monitoring device and changing operating parameters in the treatment device based on the read parameters. Likewise, monitoring functions may have to be altered based on an operational state of a treatment device. There is a significant risk of a mistake being made in the settings of one device based on the readings from another.
A system which addresses these deficiencies and associated problems is desirable.